Religion that is not a waste of time

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:26-27

Over the centuries Christians have sometimes had problems with the Letter of James. Chapter 2 verses 14-26, at face value, seem to contradict Paul’s great emphasis on “justification by faith” (“faith without deeds is dead”! declares James), which makes them uncomfortable, so even such a theological giant as Martin Luther considered this letter “a right strawy epistle” and would have liked it to be removed altogether from the Bible.

If ever we are tempted to think like this, not just about James but about any part of scripture, a good question to put to ourselves is: “Suppose this book really were to disappear from the Bible, would we in fact miss it?” In this case, the answer can only be an emphatic Yes! James is nothing if not practical, and has no patience for any kind of “religion” which is not soundly earthed in everyday life. So we would certainly miss his bracing, no-nonsense approach.

Last time, I wrote about that word religion, and shared my hearty dislike for it – especially when people apply it to me. I mentioned that, perhaps surprisingly, it’s quite rare in the Bible, even in the old King James Version, and it generally has a negative flavour about it. So who better to return to than no-nonsense James in these few verses at the end of chapter 1? It is of course by no means a full-scale account of everything that could be said about religion, but I think it gets to the essence of it. It’s worth picking apart…

“Those who consider themselves religious…”

That doesn’t exactly come across as approving, does it! In my mind’s eye I see James perhaps literally looking down his nose at such people (they “consider themselves religious” invites the follow-on, “Yes, and that is why everyone else dislikes them”). Ouch.

How quick the non-Christian world is to condemn (even if unfairly) anything that smacks of hypocrisy, sanctimony or display! Not that we should go to the opposite extreme and adopt a veneer of over-heartiness and extreme informality, a kind of wilful sloppiness, but… well, we get the point.

“…and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves…”

It’s clear that James has a real thing about the way we talk. In chapter 3 verses 1-12 he launches a full-scale attack on the “deadly poison” of wrong use of the tongue. I take this to cover anything from false teaching to lying, to offensive or unclean language, to gossip, to bursts of anger.

It’s hard not to see a very direct relevance of this in western society to what used to be called “public discourse”, whether through radio and television or social media or whatever. If a lie gets you where you want to be, well, go for it! If it makes you feel better to shout or trample on someone’s face or feelings, well, so be it. If a bit of dirt-dishing is to your advantage, well, why not? (and that applies by the way, even if there’s truth in it).

Are our tongues under firm, Spirit-led control?

“… their religion is worthless…”

The dictionary tells me that the word used here refers to “religion in its external aspect”, implying display and ostentation, and that “worthless” could be translated “a waste of time”. Here, again, there is of course a tightrope to be walked. Jesus tells us, after all, to “let our light shine before others”. So let’s work out for ourselves what that might and might not mean. But let’s not miss the warning: your religion and mine could quite possibly be “worthless” in the eyes of God as well as contemptible in the eyes of others.

Lord, give us grace to avoid any hint of inappropriate display of religiousness, but simply to make Jesus known in all our daily living!

But now we come to the positive, refreshing aspect of all this…

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this…”

Ah, so the word religion need not be a total no-word! People who aim to live humbly, kindly, generously, unostentatiously, bring pleasure to God himself and also, we may hope, the respect of their family, friends neighbours and workmates (though they don’t set out consciously to do this).

“… to look after orphans and widows in their distress…”

In the Old Testament “orphans and widows” symbolise those who, so to speak, are at the bottom of the pile, the epitome of poverty and dependence on the kindness of others. For us, of course, not all such people are literally orphans and widows; they may be the sick and the lonely; or migrants; or prisoners; or the frail and elderly; or the homeless… I think Matthew 25:31-46 gives us the idea!

And, by the way, the “orphans and widows” we come across may not be fellow-Christians. Let’s remember – before he fed the crowds with the loaves and fishes, Jesus didn’t get the disciples to do a head-count to ensure that everyone on the receiving end was a card-carrying fellow-Jew.

Lord, help me to remember that every person I ever meet is a potential neighbour, whoever and whatever they are!

“…and to keep oneself unspotted from the world…”

I’ve run out of space, so I must leave each of us to work out for ourselves out what this might mean in our particular circumstances. But Paul’s great lists in Galatians 5:16-26 and Ephesians 5:1-20 can, I suggest, point us in the right direction…

Having said all this, it occurs to me that there are those who might criticise James for his disapproving tone and even accuse him of “worthless religion”! I’m sure, of course, that would be wrong. But it reminds us that every which way we go there are mine-fields to negotiate. Whatever, I’m sure James, for all his severity, offers us valuable pointers towards “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless”. May it be so!

Father, we live in a sadly tainted, polluted world which loves to rub its uncleanness off onto us. Please help me to hunger and thirst after righteousness only, and to do so in humble and unostentatious ways. Amen.